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NEW AMADEUS PHILHARMONIA MINI SPEAKERS

Amadeus have announced they are now shipping the new Philharmonia Mini passive speakers, co-designed specifically for the Hi-Fi market by world-renowned architect Jean Nouvel. Amadeus unveiled the Philharmonia Mini at the High End Music trade show in Munich, Germany, where they paired the passive speakers with a Grandioso C1 preamplifier and a Grandioso S1 amplifier, both from Esoteric, Japan, along with the NADAC digital-to-analog converter from Merging Technologies, Switzerland. The brand-new passive speaker design is based on the Amadeus' top-of-the line Philharmonia powered speakers, which were initially created specifically for the Philharmonie de Paris recording and mastering studios. The new Philharmonia Mini speakers have a retail price of 36,000 € (VAT Incl.) in Europe.

"The sonic philosophy of the Philharmonia Mini is inherited from the initial model, Philharmonia, which has been our ultimate reference throughout the development process," said Michel Deluc, Director of Research & Development for Amadeus.

The Philharmonia Mini was born from the prestigious legacy of Amadeus' success in the professional audio world over the last 25 years. Amadeus' users include the greatest sound engineers, mixers and producers in France and throughout the world.

"The original Philharmonia-first released in 2015 and created from our collaboration with Jean Nouvel and the Philharmonie de Paris-has touched, charmed, and surprised many music lovers over the last few years," adds Gaetan Byk, Marketing Manager at Amadeus.

"The Philharmonia Mini is a form of response by Amadeus and Jean Nouvel to requests from our customers, users, and partners from the consumer world. Extending the brand and therefore the Philharmonia range was necessary. We had to offer a more compact version, more discreet, less pricey and non-powered and not digitally-managed, incorporating a state-of-the-art passive filtering section, all without distorting the shape, finish and construction technique imagined by Jean Nouvel," states Byk.

The new Philharmonia Mini speaker design features a curved structure that is both simple and complex, consisting of 288 wood veneers accurately machined, aligned and glued, offering a distinctive look and volume. The speaker in itself (resonance volume) features a 432mm height with a 353mm depth. The cabinets are custom manufactured from layered Birch and stand 1.23 meters tall. The speaker enclosure features a unique hybrid laminar port using progressive termination inspired by the original Philharmonia. Machined into the wood material along the full height of the speaker system, the very low velocity port yields optimal linearity for the lowest possible distortion.

"The distinctive construction technique helps neutralize standing waves affecting sonic clarity and low-frequency definition through an extremely complex internal structure using a combination of interlocking panels arranged in two perpendicular planes, each hosting several tuned notch resonators. This allows a dramatic decrease in sound coloration through a crossed structure of longitudinal and trans-verse reinforcements," reveals Deluc.

The Philharmonia Mini 2-way, passive speakers feature the original Philharmonia' 28-mm soft-domed tweeter and a custom 170-mm woofer, for an amplitude linearity range (±2dB) from 54 Hz to 22 kHz, and a cut-off frequency (-6dB) of 44 Hz. The high-frequency driver features very low dielectric losses and high thermal conductivity, loaded behind a fast exponential waveguide machined in wood, which yields exceptional control over spatial dispersion.

The pedestal contains the passive components inside the lower part of the speaker enclosure, including the custom Amadeus-designed passive crossover. The outstanding sonic performance of the resistors, capacitors and inductors is achieved through a unique combination of advanced technologies, meticulously researched.

"This new model features a passive crossover built into the pedestal that allows the system to be driven by just one external amplifier. Achieving such a linear response without active components -and digital correction-created an enormous amount of work on the design of the enclosures' internal structure, the hybrid laminar port, and the waveguide expansion," states Deluc. "The passive filter design philosophy matches the aesthetic of the speaker. It is very minimalist. The passive crossover features a subtle combination of two different orders, inducing an absolutely perfect phase summation between the two speakers, and an excellent impulse response."

The rear panel of the pedestal features a pair of beautifully finished, top-quality binding posts from Japan-based manufacturer FURUTECH. These carbon-finished binding posts feature rhodium-plated conductors that are the result of meticulous engineering and careful auditioning of various suitable materials. The FT-816 (R) features an ? (Alpha) pure copper conductor material for minimal impedance, extremely non-resonant carbon fiber, non-magnetic stainless steel, and eutectic copper alloy housings.

Selected specifications for the new "Philharmonia Mini" passive speakers:

Transducer (HF): Ø 28 mm soft dome

Transducer (LMF): Ø 170 mm bass driver

Recommended Power: 50 - 300W/8Ω

Amplitude linearity (±2dB): 54 Hz - 22 kHz

Cut-off frequency (-6dB): 44 Hz

Peak SPL 1-meter (Pair, IEC Short Term): 118 dB peak

Peak SPL 1-meter (IEC Short Term): 112 dB peak

Sensitivity (2.83V/1m): 90 dB

About Jean Nouvel

The architect Jean Nouvel has won many top awards for his work including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the Institut du Monde Arabe (1989); the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (2001); the Wolf Prize in Arts (2005); and the Pritzker Prize (2008). A selected list of his works include the Arab World Institute, Paris; Lyon Opera House; Cartier Foundation, Paris; Lucerne Culture and Congress Center; Dentsu Tower, Tokyo; Museum of Archaeology, Périgueux; Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, and the recently opened "Philharmonie de Paris" where Amadeus worked with the renowned architect on the Company's newest speakers, the Philharmonia.

About Amadeus

Amadeus develops, manufactures and sells a wide range of high-end sound reinforcement loudspeakers, studio monitors and various signal processing interfaces that combine its own custom innovative technology with stylish design, for the professional audio industry. Created in 1992 from the collaboration between the French designer Bernard BYK and the scientist and musician Michel DELUC, the Amadeus brand has grown to become a leading supplier of high-end audio solutions and services for theaters, opera houses, museums, recording studios, research centers and touring concert sound rental operations. All development and product manufacturing is centralized in Amadeus headquarters in France, with field offices and authorized distributors located in Europe, Asia and UAE.

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